Yesterday was our second day at God’s Love. Our task for the day was van deliveries and everyone was really excited for the personal interactions. When we got to God’s Love, Stephen (the employee that oversees van deliveries) informed us that only nine of us were needed for van deliveries, so while everyone went out into the city, Kester and I worked in the kitchen. The kitchen experience was different than Tuesday because we knew what we were doing and were kind of seen as the “experts.” New volunteers were asking us questions and at times I found myself annoyed that they didn’t know what they were doing. It made me understand how the usual volunteers felt when we walked into “their” kitchen on Tuesday with no idea how to do anything. Kester and I also met the reigning Miss USA 2011 who volunteers at God’s Love every Wednesday.
Throughout the day we had the rest of the team check in with us and I was excited to hear about their adventures around the city. Anda, Jess and Renee were delivering to different parts of Brooklyn. Sarah and Hannah were in Queens and Lara and Steph were in Manhattan. Overall everyone had a positive experience in their vans. The drivers were really nice and made sure that each Lafayette ASBer was safe.
One thing that everyone seemed to be disappointed with was that the clients didn’t seem grateful for the food they were delivering. The team expected big thank yous, hugs, etc. and instead they mostly received a hand through a door and nothing else. However, some people were overly grateful and even offered food, money, etc. Everyone also was surprised of the conditions that people were living in: whether it be really nice apartments or really run down conditions. The run down buildings made us wonder how people with such serious illness live in terrible conditions.
The biggest thing about yesterday’s service, though, was that everyone stepped out of their comfort zone. None of us are from New York City and something as simple as buzzing into a building was difficult and uncomfortable for some people. However, everyone dealt with these situations. Even in some scary situations, all the deliveries were still made.
<3 ASB NYC